Oh yeah baby, I'm back!

So I have returned from Stone Harbor and somehow managed to avoid death by drowning, sun poisoning, or jellyfish stings, although I did have some experience in each of these areas this past week.

I also managed to avoid taking any notes while I was at the beach. Partly this was because there were way too many bikini-clad distractions walking around for me to be able to write coherently for any stretches of time, but it was also because I found myself engrossed in a good book. Despite its frivolous-sounding title and frivolous-looking cover art, Banana Republicans: How the Right Wing Is Turning America into a One-Party State is a very serious (and thoroughly researched and heavily annotated) look at the real way that the party that currently controls all three branches of the U.S. government really does its business. Other people may talk about a "vast right-wing conspiracy", but this book names names. (Do you know who Grover Norquist is? He's possibly the most influential conservative/anarchist in America today, and perhaps as great a threat to the U.S. government as any terrorist out there.) This book should be required reading for anyone who plans to vote this November - and for the people who aren't planning on voting, too.

Which brings me to something I'm going to be mentioning a lot over the next few months: REGISTER TO VOTE. If you're over 18 and a U.S. citizen, I want you to register to vote. It's fast, it's easy, and being registered will let you help determine the fate of this nation. There's even a quick and easy form available at the Federal Election Commission website that allows U.S. citizens to register to vote from (almost) anywhere.

Whether you believe George W. Bush is the Second Coming or the worst president in U.S. history, your opinion won't mean squat unless you vote - and use your powers of persuasion to convince others to vote in the same way. But first things first: REGISTER TO VOTE. Do it. Now.